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Fall 2006 Power Dam Jam Attracts North Country Music Lovers Traditional music has a new home in the North Country. Organizers of the first annual St. Lawrence River Power Dam Jam are already planning their encore for next summer, with a festival that will be bigger and better than ever. “Our first Power Dam Jam was a great success, and working with NYPA, we know we have a great future ahead of us,” declared Paul Haggett, executive director of the Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce, which helped organize the two-day event in August. As a major sponsor of the Power Dam Jam, NYPA opened up its Hawkins Point Visitors Center to festival-goers, who packed an outdoor tent to enjoy a range of acoustic musical performances, including bluegrass, Celtic, country, gospel and more. Other sponsors were SeaComm Federal Credit Union, Alcoa and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Community Partnership. “Some folks were here for the entire two days, others came and went depending on the performer,” said Jill Chamberlain, NYPA community relations associate. “We attracted a number of first-timers to our visitors center, which is where we held the music workshops. Next year, we hope to have more activities for kids, and more vendors.” One of the highlights of the festival was Saturday afternoon’s jam session, which included professionals performing as part of the show as well as amateurs who attended workshops to sharpen their musical skills. And for anyone not playing an instrument, a dance floor welcomed that form of participation so that everyone could have a toe-tapping good time. (Photo caption: Whether they played an instrument, took to the dance floor or just sat and enjoyed the music, Power Dam Jam participants made this year’s event a success.) Modernization Project Hits the Halfway Mark Power Authority workers have reached the halfway point in their overhaul of the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project, a 15-year effort that will replace or renovate almost all of the equipment at NYPA’s first generating facility. As part of the project’s $281 million Life Extension and Modernization (LEM), all 16 turbine-generators are being replaced with new units. Work on the eighth replacement is scheduled for completion by year-end, with the entire LEM to be finished by 2013. The purpose of this “water-to-wire” overhaul is to improve the efficiency and extend the operating life of the hydroelectric project, which produced first power in 1958. While NYPA workers are on schedule, averaging three turbine-generator replacements every two years, the Power Authority is also using a number of local vendors and contractors for the LEM. Among the North Country businesses that have been hired for this assignment are Atlantic Testing Labs of Canton and the Laframboise Group of Massena. Other recent capital improvement projects at St. Lawrence-FDR have employed the services of such local firms as J. E. Sheehan Construction of Potsdam, NCC Systems of Potsdam, Northern Mechanicals of Norwood, Op-Tech Environmental Services of Massena, Perras Excavating of Massena and S&L Electric of Colton. (Photo caption: A new 43-ton turbine runner is delivered to the St. Lawrence-FDR project as part of a Life Extension and Modernization effort.) Park Improvements Are Continuing Summer may be over, but North Country parks still beckon visitors to the St. Lawrence River for fishing, hiking and other cool-weather activities. Several town and village sites offer new and expanded amenities as part of the Power Authority’s $7 million improvement plan for local recreational facilities associated with NYPA’s St. Lawrence-FDR project. Massena Intake Boat Launch, for example, has undergone a major rehabilitation and now boasts a new fishing pier, a paved loop trail and a reconstructed boat launch area, all of which are handicapped-accessible. Whalen Park, in Louisville, has also been transformed with a new playground, fishing pier and other improvements. Particularly noteworthy is the 1.5-mile paved trail that now links Whalen Park with Massena Country Club. River access has been improved with the new trail that opened in late-summer. While NYPA’s schedule of improvements to local parks should be wrapped up by year-end, the Power Authority has pledged to review these recreational facilities every 12 years to assess their current and future need for further enhancements. More than $11 million in NYPA-funded improvements to two state parks are expected to continue for another two years, under terms approved as part of the St. Lawrence-FDR project relicensing. Work this year included a new entrance at Coles Creek State Park and expanded dock facilities at the Barnhart Island Marina in Robert Moses State Park. Campground improvements at both parks are continuing as well. (Photo caption: A new fishing pier at Massena Intake Boat Launch, like many of the recreational improvements being made by the Power Authority, meets handicapped-accessibility criteria set by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.) New Erosion Control Projects OK’d A second group of erosion control projects along the St. Lawrence River has been selected as part of the multi-year Adjoining Landowner Stabilization Program sponsored by NYPA. The Power Authority is making $125,000 available annually for a period of eight-to-10 years to finance small shoreline stabilization projects proposed by landowners adjoining NYPA’s St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project. The projects are chosen and the funds are disbursed by members of the Adjoining Landowner Stabilization Board, made up of representatives from local municipalities. The board met in October and chose four projects out of about two dozen applications. Work on these new projects will begin in 2007, once engineering designs are completed and permits are obtained. Besides funding, NYPA offers technical and construction assistance for approved jobs. The first round of projects included five proposals selected from 18 applications submitted last year. That work is scheduled for completion this fall. Property owners interested in submitting an application may do so at any time, with new projects reviewed and approved each August. For more information and applications, visit: www.stl.nypa.gov RN Notes New Eel Ladder Aids Migration American eels making their fall migration upstream along the St. Lawrence River received a boost — literally — this year, courtesy of the Power Authority. This summer, NYPA unveiled a $2 million eel passage facility at its St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. Representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Department of Environmental Conservation have expressed support for the eel ladder, designed and built to help American eels swimming upstream toward the Great Lakes. More than 8,000 eels had safely traveled through the power dam by the end of October. B-S Industrial Contractors of Gouverneur and Collins Hammond Electric of Ogdensburg built the system, which is part of a $66 million commitment by NYPA for environmental enhancements and research projects related to the relicensing of its St. Lawrence-FDR project. The Power Authority is also proceeding with Habitat Improvement Projects that will benefit a variety of wildlife native to the North Country. HAWKINS POINT VISITORS CENTER MOVIE SERIES
About River News This newsletter reports on Power Authority activities in Northern New York, particularly those associated with NYPA’s St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. We welcome your comments. To contact us, call Jill Chamberlain, Community Relations, 315-764-0226, ext. 300. |